The NFL is restricting what its official sportsbook partners can promote during games, with prediction markets excluded from advertising even as DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics expand into the fast-growing event-contract sector.
Under the league’s policy, sportsbook partners can advertise only products that have received NFL approval during game broadcasts. General company advertising is not permitted in those windows, while prediction-market promotions are prohibited across game broadcasts, stadium signage, club sponsorships and player endorsements, according to information provided by the NFL to Gambling Insider.
The restriction has attracted attention because the NFL has not publicly released a list of approved products or detailed how products are assessed. As a result, operators know which campaigns have been cleared through their commercial agreements, but advertisers and the wider public cannot consult a published approval register.
The issue has become more significant following the NFL’s new multi-year agreements with DraftKings, FanDuel and Fanatics Betting and Gaming ahead of the 2026 season. Those deals allow the three companies to use NFL marks for sports betting, advertise online and retail wagering, access selected NFL media inventory and receive official league data through Genius Sports. The operators also agreed to the NFL’s integrity policies and restrictions on certain wagering markets.
However, the partnerships do not extend those rights to prediction-market businesses operated by the same companies. Reporting around the agreements confirmed that NFL data and intellectual property cannot be used for their event-contract platforms.
DraftKings has therefore separated its NFL advertising from campaigns promoting its prediction products. Its broader nationwide marketing can reference availability through a combination of sportsbook, prediction-market and free-to-play products, but material shown during NFL programming must comply with league approval requirements.
Fanatics has adopted a similar separation. Fanatics Markets is outside the scope of its NFL betting partnership and its advertising does not run during NFL programming. The company can still promote other parts of the wider Fanatics business where permitted under its separate commercial relationships with the league.
FanDuel also keeps its prediction-market operation distinct from its sportsbook activity, particularly in jurisdictions where traditional regulated sports betting is available.
The distinction comes as prediction markets take a growing share of US sports-related advertising. American Gaming Association data based on Sensor Tower figures showed prediction-market campaigns accounting for 57% of digital sports-betting ad impressions through July, compared with 43% for conventional sportsbooks.
For the NFL, the central policy is now clear: prediction markets cannot be promoted during its games, and sportsbook partners must advertise approved products. What remains undisclosed is the process behind those approvals, including the full list of eligible products and who ultimately determines which campaigns qualify.